In the preparation of dough, such as pizza dough, it is of advantage to knead and deaerate the dough, and various dough preparation apparatus has been proposed utilizing a variety of configurations for such purposes, typical examples being shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 550,337; 730,124; 819,772 and 1,807,009.
Devices known as "dough dockers" may be used in the preparation of pizza dough for kneading and deaerating purposes and such apparatus is of the rolling pin type having radially extending teeth or projections for working and indenting the dough in a predetermined manner to aid in the removal of air. Rolling pin type apparatus pushes and stretches the dough, and when the apparatus includes teeth or projections extending into the dough inconsistencies in the kneading and deaerating process will occur if the operator is not careful to insure an equal extent of lateral rolling pin movement throughout the length of the apparatus during dough working. If one end of the rolling pin rotates faster than the other end, an unequal stretching of the dough will occur which may cause a tear or other imperfection.
When kneading and deaerating dough, optimum results are achieved by closely regulating the depth of dough penetration by the deaerating teeth or projections, and it is known to use gauging rollers with rolling pin type devices to control the thickness of the dough, or the distance of the rolling pin surface from the support surface, typical examples of such apparatus being shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 534,460; 4,435,145 and 4,521,174.
However, previous dough processing apparatus of the dough docker type has not successfully overcome the problems of producing consistent deaeration and dough working without producing tears and other dough imperfections while maintaining a uniform dough thickness and depth of penetration for deaeration purposes.
It is an object of the invention to provide dough preparation apparatus capable of kneading and deaerating dough in a consistent manner wherein uniform working and deaerating of the dough is achieved without requiring special skills by the operator.
A further object of the invention is to provide dough preparation apparatus of an economical construction which consists of a plurality of dough kneading and deaerating rollers each individually rotatably mounted upon a shaft and capable of rotating at that rate which will most advantageously work the dough contacted thereby.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide dough preparation apparatus of economical construction and manufacture which may be readily assembled, is easy to clean and maintain, and will consistently deaerate dough to a predetermined depth under uniform rolling and working conditions.
In the practice of the invention the dough preparation apparatus of the dough docker type includes a plurality of components mounted upon a cylindrical shaft. The shaft includes a central region upon which a plurality of independently rotatable rollers are mounted in side-by-side relationship to form an elongated stack. Each roller includes a plurality of radially extending teeth adapted to penetrate the dough mass being worked. Adjacent each end of the stack a gauging roller of slightly greater diameter than that of the stack rollers engages the surface supporting the dough and determines the depth of roller teeth penetration.
Tubular sleeves mounted upon the shaft end regions abut against the outer sides of the gauging rollers and define handles easily grapsed by the operator. The outer ends of the sleeves are engaged by washers mounted on bolts threaded into holes formed in the shaft ends and the bolts maintain the assembly of the components upon the shaft.
The rollers constituting the stack are independently rotatably mounted upon the shaft and if one end of the shaft is laterally pushed faster or further than the other, or the apparatus is moved through a slight arc, the resulting differences in the rate of roller rotation does not produce an uneven stretching or stressing of the dough in that each roller will automatically adapt itself to the rate of rotation commensurate with the rate of movement of the apparatus at each particular roller location, and accordingly, the apparatus automatically adapts itself to any inconsistency in the operator's handling of the apparatus during use.
Preferably, the rollers of the stack, the gauging rollers, and the handle sleeves, are all formed of a synthetic plastic material which is noncorrosive, easy to clean, and tends to release the dough therefrom. The teeth defined on the rollers of the stack are of a truncated pyramidal configuration which aid in releasing the dough, and apparatus in accord with the invention may be readily utilized by unskilled operators to achieve high quality dough kneading and deaeration without producing imperfections in the dough.